State Police Report Finds Alcohol Likely in Fatal 2024 Crash

A New Mexico State Police report obtained by this newspaper shows that alcohol and excessive speed were likely factors in the rollover crash on U.S. Highway 550 that killed 57 year old Farmington entrepreneur William Billy DuTremaine on Sept. 9, 2024. The report says DuTremaine was in a GMC pickup with 23 year old passenger Sarah Jantz when the vehicle struck a 2015 Lincoln, rolled three to four times across the median, hit another truck and came to rest near milepost 165.

The report states both DuTremaine and Jantz were not wearing seat belts and were ejected from the pickup. Deputy Avery Killifer first reported smelling alcohol on DuTremaine when he arrived and began CPR. Paramedics confirmed the odor. DuTremaine was transported to San Juan Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. Jantz sustained major injuries and was flown to the University of New Mexico Hospital.

A family GoFundMe page for Jantz reports she suffered a spinal cord injury and will never walk again, a broken arm and a fractured orbital bone on her right eye. The page has been raising money to help her parents with medical costs and long term care. The GoFundMe also states Jantz has no memory of the crash.

The report notes previous court records showing DuTremaine faced an aggravated DWI charge in 2009, later pleading to a non aggravated first DWI with a sentence including outpatient treatment and supervised probation. DuTremaine was a known local employer and community supporter, owner of Cottonwood Clinical Services, Ironwood Gym and Locke Street Eats, and friends credited him with involvement in the recovery community.

Questions about who was driving complicated the aftermath. DuTremaine’s wife Kim asserted he was a passenger and told police the same two days after the crash. She told investigators, “The only thing that we can say is he was a passenger.” Kim also told officers she had someone clean the truck at Camel Towing before police secured a search warrant. Investigators examined driver seat rails and found they were not broken, which could indicate Jantz had been driving. Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Decker later said prosecutors would not bring charges because investigators could not establish who was driving.

For San Juan County the case underscores the intersection of impaired driving, vehicle safety and evidence preservation. The loss of a local business owner has economic and social ripple effects, while Jantz’s long term care needs remain a local concern as families and service providers assess the aftermath.